Industriales Revolution
(Original Piece written in 2016, republished in 2020)
Visiting Cuba as a tourist, even if you venture off the beaten path and experience something closer to the “real Cuba” can sometimes cloud your perspective. A people so immensely proud that will give you the shirt off their back or the last bit of food in their cupboard can sway your perception of the overall way of life and political climate.
One of the last bastions of communism paints a facade of being deceptively modern and industrialized. Life expectancy is similar to that in North America. News of medical breakthroughs on the horizon seem contradictory to what we envision of a repressive regime. Ultimately all things flow through and to the top in Cuba. This means technically no one goes without but the opportunity to pull ones self up is rare.
Their idea of a free market, which increasingly dissuades Cubans from getting involved in agriculture as a profession, is being able to sell 10% of your yield to entities other than the government. If you over produce and are caught selling your cheese or milk or sell outside of the 90–10 structure you will be fined substantially.
Definitive statistics on wages aren’t made readily available but estimates are that most Cubans get the equivalent of $20 us a month, some specialized professions make more, for instance a skilled surgeon might get $30 or other perks such as nicer living arrangements. All animals are created equal, except some are more equal than others, and speculation is that players in the National Series make between the $20 and a relative robust $300, with some getting the big perk of a new Hyundai Accent or at least a newer compact foreign car.
Even though their baseball players live a comparatively lush life, it is hard to not dream of North America, Major League Baseball and the potential millions of dollars which is equivalent to the GDP of certain provinces in the country. The chance to make huge money while facing the best baseball players in the world still does not make it an easy decision. Leaving your life and family, many never having the chance to return, many more dealing with shady human smugglers to even make the journey a reality is the decision increasing Cubans have made in recent years.
U.S. President Obama announcing that diplomatic ties would be restored for the first time since 1959 has set off immense speculation as to what this will mean for Cuba. Common sentiment is to get to Cuba before the americans come in and ruin it, I don’t share that opinion for many reasons, the first being I feel I have more in common with most Americans than I have differences. The reign of Fidel and Raul Castro has been with an iron fist, but certain forces perhaps even they can not resist.
The digital revolution is coming, especially in the city of baseball powerhouse Industriales. Cuba for years has had essentially an intranet with limited access to the outside world. Ability to communicate via email amongst those privileged enough to have access within the country has been growing. I have been able to send photos to my contacts in Cuba, but responses, much like their access is spotty and not guaranteed. The biggest change from 2015 to 2016 is not the influx of Americans (although anecdotally I heard more english and met more Americans in Havana this year) but the advent of Wifi or WEEFEE hot spots. Select, squares in Havana and certain hotels allow Cubans to get unfettered internet access through their smart phones (another incredible infestation), still expensive, but a new common site is entire blocks of Cubans getting in touch with the outside world via their new digital devices.
Selfishly some of Cuba’s lustre wears off when you see this previously unconnected tourist paradise falling prey to the digital zombie apocalypse that seems to have taken over North America, but on the other hand, if you are reading this, it is likely on a smart phone or at the least a tablet or laptop; so please disregard my hypocrisy.
My first voyage to Cuba in 2012 was perhaps at a perfect time in the scope of a society about to change. My first baseball experience in Cienfuegos I saw the local legend Jose “Pito” Abreu play. I was impressed by his presence at the plate and his shear size, it propelled me to do some more research, and found he was likely close to the end of his prospect status at 28 years old. I even joked, it’s now or never for this guy, and within months (note I had no hand in his defection) he was making his way stateside and putting up incredible numbers for the White Sox on his way to earning Rookie of the Year honours. On this trip I was also advised to keep an eye on another former Elefante in Yasiel Puig, who would electrify the baseball world once he made his debut with the Dodgers.
This seemed to tip off an exodus which while great for the players making it both physically and getting paid is terrific, but proved to be a drain on the Cuban League. Subsequent trips, at least by the eye test seemed to show a drop off in premiere talent, but every time I would return home and hear of the next player signing with the majors I could say, wow I saw that guy before he left. The exception in my travels is Yulieski Gourriel, consensus best player still on the island. The Gourriels the first family of Cuban baseball, Lourdes Sr. the godfather of the Cuban program, Yuniesky the eldest (who I met briefly in Canada, another chapter in the story) Yunito the youngest and perhaps the true prospect the last stalwarts the truest of Cubans. Seeing them play in Havana in January 2016, Yulieski hitting a walk off home run in one of the games, was it now or never? Chatter of an eventual agreement between Cuba and MLB to send players to the states legally existed, but was it just bluster, the recent defections of Yulieski and Yunito would tend to indicate so. 32 year old baseball players with ambitions of making it in the states can’t afford to let too much time tick off the clock, and thus the last player most figured would leave had to make the tough decision.
Every day seems to bring a new development. Estadio LatinoAmericano in Havana, the Yankee Stadium of Cuba, in a rustic state of repair both times I visited (the left field roof and thus third base seating section closed for over a year) suddenly closed for repairs with Industriales the baseball team playing out of a local town, was this a smoke screen to quell the talk of the most recent defections? Was it the reality of construction supplies and their availability in Cuba? Perhaps, but it was then announced that President Obama would be visiting Havana in March and as part the Tampa Bay Rays would be playing the Cuban National team as part of this tour. A logical explanation but still the other two theories still possible, trying to make sense of the decision making process in Cuba is as predictable as betting on baseball games.
Major League Baseball has tabled a system working with the Cuban baseball federation to work together to eliminate human trafficking, bring Cuban baseball players stateside and put support into the Cuban baseball infrastructure. Personally, I think the process to reaching an agreement will be a roller coaster ride, again all money flow begins and ends with the regime, but perhaps more than anything the growing social pressures (internet access, brain drain/talent leaving) will force their hand and realize you can’t stop this tide you can only hope to salvage some of the shells that wash up on shore and prey that you find a pearl.
